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Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Arab Memes

It seems that Facebook has recently discovered what Internet memes and rage comics are. Condescending Wonka and Success Kid have flooded the white and blue interface and people are all quite giddy about it. There's been an influx of Facebook pages sharing specialised memes - university memes, ethnic memes, faith-based memes and more. While the Facebook world may be exhibiting some characteristics of Slowpoke, the memes coming out of these internet communities are thoroughly entertaining. I've been laughing at a lot of Arab memes because they're pretty accurate and relatable. This is the Arab memes Facebook page, and this is their website, which was unveiled recently.

Here are some that I've liked:

The forever vague "inshalla". It means 'If God wills it' in Arabic. Arab parents use it to leave their children in limbo. It usually means no.

Not-so-fruitful 'family time'

It's not you, it's me. Not a meme per se, but clever!

Abdul Halim Hafez, one of the four greats in contemporary Arab musical/singing history, can catch the wind in his hands.

There are spices, bits and bones in Arab dishes that cannot be eaten. You've got to take a chance.

I grew up with Laughing Cow cheese. Arab grocers seem to stock it almost everywhere. It was always a challenge trying to open it carefully.

Oregano and olive oil. A heavenly combination.

I've mentioned somewhere that Arabic channels have outsourced their shows. Arab mums are hooked onto Turkish sitcoms that have out-of-synch voiceovers in Arabic.